


If I Only Had A Heart

by elfsong



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Robot/Human Relationships, Romance, Slow Burn, Slow Dancing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-25
Updated: 2017-08-25
Packaged: 2018-12-19 22:21:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11907393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elfsong/pseuds/elfsong
Summary: Ellie Perkins is more than just an office girl.





	1. Chapter 1

Ellie had dozed off after stamping and filing away easily the hundredth report of the day. Valentine Detective Agency had been flooded with more and more cases these days, from the little girl crying that her dog ran away to the common wayward husband or wife case. Each case is handled equally as serious. Well, each case _was_  before the agency’s star of the show became a vagabond.

Ellie jerked awake to the sound of the office door slamming shut. An organized stack of folders plummeted to the floor. The perpetrator was quick to thrust himself forward, pulling the folders back together and apologizing profusely. Ellie waved a dismissive hand and knelt down to gather the folders together herself to make sure no classified information slipped out.

“Do you need something? The detective is out right now, but I can take a report.” She said without much enthusiasm. The young man frowned.

“No, I’m just a courier is all. You Miss Ellie Perkins?”

That seemed to pique her interest.

“I am.” Ellie confirmed and the courier dug around in a dirty messenger bag and pulled out a letter.

“Ah, here it is.” He handed the letter to Ellie. She took it, wondering who could be writing her. It was addressed directly to her with not much else in regard to whom it was from. The courier tipped his hat to Ellie, “I must be going now, miss. Best of luck to you.”

“Thank you.” Ellie replied quietly and the courier slipped out the door, making sure to close it softly this time. Ellie finished restacking the folders and placed them back on top of the desk before peeling away the seal of the envelope.

Her grip on the letter tightened as she read. The letter was from her mother. God, how long had it been since she mailed her own mother a letter? The stress and business of the agency kept Ellie on her toes and at the end of the day, she could vomit just from looking at a pen and paper.

The letter explained that her mother’s health was declining rapidly and that she requested to see Ellie before it was too late.

Guilt engulfed Ellie for not doing a better job at keeping in touch with her mother and it seemed now was too late to remedy that. She grimaced at the thought of making the trip, though.

Nick normally accompanied her on trips but with him gone, she would have to make the venture on her own.

Ellie couldn’t help but feel left behind. She used to be Nick’s right-hand girl, always helping him, filing reports, fixing his ties, washing his clothes… Ellie blushed at how domesticated those thoughts sounded.

That bashfulness quickly turned to jealousy when she remembered just _why_  Nick was no longer in the picture. It wasn’t uncommon for the detective to stay gone on a lead for as long as up to a month, but the case of a kidnapped child was long done with, yet Nick rarely came back to the office. Did he even consider this place his home anymore? He seemed much happier at the vaultie’s side than he ever did working in the agency and it caused a lump to form in Ellie’s throat.

It didn’t matter, she reminded herself. She had to get to her mother in Goodneighbor one way or another, and without enough funds to hire an escort, she would have to go on her own.

Quickly, she went to her bed, pulled out the suitcase underneath and found the .44 pistol that helped her get to Diamond City in the first place. She holstered the weapon, stuffed some ammo in her pockets and packed away a good dozen grenades, some stimpaks and water. Goodneighbor wasn’t a horrible distance away, and if she took the right alleyways she could avoid detection altogether, but she wasn’t willing to take any chances.

Ellie closed up the office early and headed for the stadium's entrance. The surprise of the guards' was expected as she made her way up the walkway to the gate. At the gate, she took a deep breath, readying herself.

“ _You can do this_ ,” She assured herself. Ellie’s mother had been a Gunner in her youth but gave up the lifestyle when she found out she was with child. She then relocated to Goodneighbor when the town was just up and coming and settled there and gave birth to Ellie shortly after. She taught Ellie how to shoot and the most effective ways to take down an enemy. “ _I’ve got this_.” Ellie promised herself and pushed open the stadium doors.


	2. Chapter 2

The sun seemed brighter on the outside and the air smelled almost _cleaner_. Ellie guessed that was a given, not much of a breeze makes its way down into the field after all. The guard posted outside greeted her but not much else. She _wanted_  him to realize how shaken she was, she wanted someone to offer to escort her to her destination. But she already knew that was only wishful thinking and no Diamond City guard was ever  _that_ nice.

Ellie made sure her gun was loaded and ascended down a narrow alleyway just east of the city. Without a map on hand, she kept an eye out for familiar landmarks to confirm she was headed in the right direction. While she made this trip many times in the past, it had been a few years since she’d even been outside the stadium’s wall.

She felt overexposed out here, so she crouched and clung to walls, hiding in shadows. She focused on being stealthy and on not tumbling into Swans Pond, a rookie mistake she made on her first trip to Diamond City. The cry of a child broke her focus. She leered over an overturned dumpster and stared in horror at a child tied to a pole just outside Super Mutant territory. Ellie could see his eyes were bloodshot, no doubt from hours of crying. At this point, the little boy just sniffed and whimpered with defeat. A short distance in front of him lay two mutilated corpses, no doubt the boy's parents. The boy himself looked relatively unharmed, save for puffy eyes and a rope tied so tightly it would leave welts.

Every instinct in her brain told Ellie to leave. She was underprepared, lacking proper armor and weaponry. She only had a handful of stimpaks in her pack and couldn’t risk becoming someone’s dinner tonight. But her morality told her she _had_  to do _something_. Ellie wouldn’t be able to live with herself if she just up and went her merry way.

Ellie began scanning the location. On top of a nearby building just beyond the gore-ridden wall was a lookout with a super mutant who seemed to be sleeping stationed there. He sat perched on a couch with his head lulled to the side and gun slack in his massive hands. There were no other signs of life beyond that point so Ellie guessed the coast was clear. If she could just stay _quiet_  and close to the ground, she could go unnoticed and get her and the child back to safety beyond the dumpster.

Her heart beat nearly out of her chest and her hands shook as she double-checked the chamber of her pistol before forcing herself out from her cover. She nearly crawled to the child, and as she neared him he took notice of her, the joy of seeing a human’s face obvious.

“Save me! You’ve got to save me!” he hollered and Ellie quickly brought her finger up to her lips, shushing him loudly and glancing around the perimeter. The boy wouldn’t let up, however, ignoring her and squawking even louder the closer she inched to him. She realized he was younger than she initially thought. Ellie saw movement in her peripheral vision and jerked her head up to see the super mutant on the rooftop had awoken due to the child’s frantic screaming. The super mutant stood, firmly gripped his gun before seemingly second guessing himself and relaxing, opting to watch the spectacle below rather than attack. That decision chilled Ellie to the bone more so than having an angry super mutant charging at her would have.

At this point, Ellie was close enough to see snot hanging down from the child’s nose.

“It’s alright,” Ellie promised him, reaching out to touch his shoulder. He practically melted into the touch and it broke her heart, the poor child. But _why_ spare him? She couldn’t understand the mutant’s intentions.

Another step closer and she understood fully.

_Beep, beep, beep,_

Time froze. Ellie could hear the blood rushing through her veins and she and the boy fell quiet at the recognition of the sound. Ellie swore she could hear the bellowing laughter of the super mutant above. Tucked delicately between the pole and the boy, hidden by his tied arms, was a homemade bomb with a sensor. Ellie had gotten too close and triggered the sensor, starting the countdown. She looked to the boy and made eye contact.  Suddenly time was no longer frozen and she lunged forward, attacking the ropes with her bare hands. The bomb wasn’t tied to the child and if she could _just_  get these knots undone she could grab him and flee in hopes she makes it away in time. The boy began crying out inaudible pleas and Ellie didn’t know she was crying until hot tears blurred her vision. The beeping sped up and finally, fucking _finally_ , the rope gave. Ellie grabbed the child and kicked backwards, throwing herself a distance away, landing hard enough on concrete to knock the breath out of her.

She could still hear the beeping and an angry roar from an unsatisfied Super Mutant and she knew she had to _move_. As she tried to regain her footing, the boy wiggled himself free from her grasp and sped off running, not daring to look back at her. Ellie ran in the same direction, cursing under her breath. How ironic to die saving someone who would in turn abandon her in the end?

A blow to the ribs had Ellie winding through the air like some rag doll. She crashed against overturned barrels and clenched her fists in an effort to check if she was really still alive. In front of her came that same super mutant, teeth barred and fists clenched. His every step shook the Earth.

“STUPID HUMAN!” He growled, staring her down. Evidently, Ellie ruined his show when she didn’t blow to smithereens, and now she was trapped between him and the barrels, her gun slung clear across the street when he hit her. She noted his gun was strapped to his back. _He must be planning to tear me apart with his hands,_ she cringed. Having no choice but to accept fate, she closed her eyes shut tight and prayed for a quick ending.

When a hoard of bullets interrupted her prayers and she realized she was still intact, she peeked an eye open to witness the super mutant roar and charge away from her. She let out a shaky breath and winced at the pain in her side. Her eyes followed the direction in which her attacker was headed, and found Nate and Nick.

Nate unloaded rounds after rounds of ammo into the mutants belly but he just kept charging. At one point, the mutant slowed, grabbing for his own gun and began fumbling with the chamber, trying to load the thing and struggling with his large fingers. Nate waved Nick around and pointed in Ellie’s direction, no doubt sending him over to make sure she was alive.

Although in immense pain, Ellie flushed the closer Nick got. Of all things, she felt embarrassed, like a kid caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

Recognition flashed in Nick’s eyes and he picked up the speed once he realized who she was.

“Ellie! Ellie!” He crashed to his knees in front of her, grabbing her face and looking her over for wounds. She half-heartedly lifted her top to show bruising already beginning on her side. Nick was quick to remedy the pain with a stimpak. “What the hell are you doing out here?!”

“I…I…” Lost for words, Ellie retrieved the letter from her vest pocket and handed it to the Detective, who swiped it from her hand. He read over it quickly and sighed. The reign of bullets subsided, the super mutant crashing to the ground in a cloud of dust and Nate quick to loot the beast for ammunition.

“You should have waited for me, Ellie.” Nick looked her in the eyes, worry and disappointment both visible. This made Ellie angry.

“My mother _can’t_  wait, Nick! I didn’t know when you’d be back, I have to get to her!” She struggled to move and winced once she put pressure on her leg. Nick grabbed it to examine it.

“Fractured.” Nick sighed. “A girl like you don’t need to be out in a place like this.” He hushed his voice, keeping his scolding private as Nate approached. Embarrassment resurfaced at the pitiful smile Nate gave her.

“Glad to see you’re still in one piece,” Nate offered. Ellie looked away, ashamed. “Try to be more careful next time.”

“I _was_ being careful until I saw the little boy those monsters had tied up.” She huffed. Nick and Nate both looked to each other.

“So that would explain the kid we passed…” Nick nodded. Nate smile and leaned down to pat Ellie on the shoulder.

“Is that so? You’re a hero, Ellie!” Nate praised her and Nick’s expression softened. Huh. _Hero_.

“Well, I guess I ought to help Ellie here on over to Goodneighbor then.”

“Yeah,” Nate agreed, “You go on, I’ve got it from here.”

“Alright, then,” Nick administered another stimpak to Ellie’s leg and helped her to stand. “Let’s get moving, it’ll be night before long.”

Ellie nodded, looked around and spotted her pistol. She holstered it once more and moved forward, following in the detectives footsteps.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Ellie Perkins is easily one of my favorite characters and I wish there was more of a story to her.


End file.
